In today's article I will tell you what freelance is, who is a freelancer and what he does, how much he gets and how to become a beginner without experience and knowledge, as well as where a beginner freelancer can find a job. If this is relevant for you and you are increasingly thinking about leaving your office workplace and switching to freelance, then read on.

Surely, each of you at least once thought about how great it would be to leave a dusty office, an eight-hour working day and a salary once a month and go “free floating”. And, most likely, many of you know about this type of activity as freelancing.

But all this is only in general terms, but not everyone (and not even many) know in detail about what freelancing is and how to make money on it. That is why today we will talk about this topic with you and try to figure out who a freelancer is and what he does in all the details.

If you are seriously thinking about becoming a freelancer, then, most likely, now you may be interested in three main questions:

1. Who are freelancers?
2. What does a freelancer do?
3. How much can you earn on this?

We will try to answer these questions further.

What is freelance and who is a freelancer

We'll start with a little explanation for all those who first encountered the concept of "freelance". Freelancer is a pretty old concept. It was first used by Walter Scott in his novel Ivanhoe. There, this name was called mercenary warriors.

Today, freelancers are employees who work remotely over the Internet and do business with several employers at the same time. They are conventionally divided into two groups.

First, those for whom the Internet and computers are the main field of activity - programmers, copywriters, web designers, seo specialists, etc. In fact, their work does not require personal meetings, and therefore they can afford to communicate exclusively in correspondence or through calls.

The second group is those for whom the Internet is just a way to reach a client. Today, many lawyers, accountants, marketers and other representatives of all kinds of spheres conduct their affairs remotely. Some of them work exclusively through a PC, sending all documents and information by mail, and someone, after meeting the employer on the network, prefers to meet him in person. However, they do not get a permanent job and continue to conduct activities with other employers (including, simultaneously conducting several cases).

What freelancers do

As you may have noticed, today a representative of any profession can become a freelancer. Therefore, there are no clear boundaries of what a freelancer does. You just need to decide what you want (and know how) to do, and then find a client. Many people at first doubt whether their services can be useful at least for someone, but this is a big mistake. If you are a really good specialist and are ready to work, then there is definitely a person who wants to hire you.

Freelancers can be conditionally divided into groups:

1. Working with content - rewriter, copywriter, SEO copywriter, text editor, translator, content manager. To work in this area, it is enough to know Russian well and it is desirable to have a high typing speed.
2. Assistants - there are many businessmen on the Internet who cannot cope with monotonous, routine work and are happy to shift it to personal assistants, freeing themselves up time for more serious matters. What does a personal assistant do? Analyzes mail, maintains mailings, administers the site, responds to comments, selects and monitors other freelancers and carries out other orders from the head. If the listed scope of duties scares you, then you can choose the direction easier - an online consultant who answers customer requests (most often works using ready-made scripts).
3. IT - programming, testing, web design, SEO, IT analytics. The work of programmers is in great demand on the Internet, but knowledge is required for this work (HTML, CSS, PHP, JavaScript, C ++, etc.).
4. Foreign languages \u200b\u200b- for those who know foreign languages \u200b\u200bwell, you can choose the vacancies of a text translator, online tutor and teacher.
5. Advertising and marketing - SMM promotion, advertising campaigns, traffic arbitrage, administration of online stores, communities in social networks. To work in the field of marketing, you will need to study the nuances of advertising on the Internet, decide on a specialization and start promoting sites in social networks, Yandex Direct and other areas.
6. The field of design is work for artists, photographers and designers. Knowledge is required, at least, to study programs for processing and creating images (for example, Photoshop, CorelDraw). You can create banners, design for social networks, retouch photos, sell photos on stock photos.
7. Service sector - you can offer services in the field of accounting, law, psychology, coaching, and edit videos.

Above, I have listed not all areas where you can work as freelancers. Every day, the Internet is developing and more and more new vacancies are opening in various fields. Any office worker can choose a direction for himself in which he can work remotely. You may have to learn some new skills or pull up existing knowledge.

Why companies hire freelancers

In today's world, the demand for freelancers is quite high. Many company representatives or just individuals hire freelancers to solve their problems. Despite the fact that the services of a freelancer can sometimes cost more than the services of an employee hired on a permanent basis, it is still profitable to hire them. Agree that during the next emergency, it would be much better to hire a freelancer and pay him five thousand for a couple of days of work, than to hire a permanent employee and pay him fifty thousand at the end of the month.

And don't confuse freelancers and remote workers. The former, as you already know, are mainly engaged in one-time projects and often do business with several clients at the same time. Sometimes they stay in one place for a while, but it's still hired labor. A remote worker works on a permanent basis with one client, but does it from a distance.

How much do freelancers get

So we come to the most important question - how much does a freelancer get. It is impossible to answer this question unequivocally, because the amounts here vary from several hundred rubles to several hundred thousand. Freelancer's salary directly depends on his field of activity, as well as efforts and experience. Let's go in order.

Different jobs are paid differently and freelancing is no exception. Professionals in different fields make different amounts of money. To find out specific prices, it would be best for you to go to the freelance exchange as a customer, go to orders in the area in which you are going to work and see what prices other users are setting. The best paid are those areas where the performer is required to have certain skills and abilities (like knowledge of programming languages \u200b\u200bor the ability to work with programs), while the more complex skills are needed, the higher the price tag.

A freelancer's salary is highly dependent on his efforts. Remember, you are no longer in a regular salary office where you have to sit out your eight hours and go home. You can work four hours a day or two if you think that the money you earn is enough. But you can also sit at work for more and earn a correspondingly large amount of money.

Well, the last criterion for paying a freelancer is experience. For a freelancer, a portfolio is of great importance - the larger, more varied and better quality it is, the more customers will pay attention to it and the higher the price it can set. With no work experience, many freelancers have to lower prices on their offers in order to compensate for this fact and attract an employer. But it's not only that. With experience, you start to work faster, you will learn how to complete a particular task faster, how to find a customer faster, and get regular customers with more profitable offers.

Below I will present only approximate figures of how much a freelancer gets. But again, a freelancer's income depends on his experience, skills and how much time he is willing to devote to work:

• beginner author - $ 100-150;
• professional copywriter - from $ 500;
• programmer - $ 1000-1500;
• mobile application developer - $ 1,500-2,000;
• SEO specialist - $ 400;
• translator from English - $ 500;
• retoucher - $ 200-300;
• community administrator in VK - from $ 70-100 for maintaining one project.

The advantages and disadvantages of freelancing

Many of those who are just starting their acquaintance with the world of freelancing think that it is very simple and that becoming a freelancer they can easily solve all their financial problems with minimal effort. There are also those who believe that all this is a deception and that money can only be lost on the Internet. As you might have guessed, neither one nor the other is right. Freelancing has its pros and cons (as elsewhere).

Benefits

First, about the advantages of working as a freelancer.

1. Individual schedule. Each freelancer decides for himself when to work and when to rest. Of course, customers will give you specific deadlines to complete the work. But only you decide how you want to work - you can get up later or go to bed early, you can make lunch at any convenient time or interrupt to go to the gym - everything is in your hands (most importantly, do not forget about the deadlines for the work). Also, you can always make yourself a day off and not take a new job for that day.
2. Unlimited earnings. Freelancer's payment, by and large, is limited only by his personal capabilities and desires. Work more, get more. If you decide that you do not have enough money, sign up for courses, acquire a new skill and find a business that is more profitable. You can also always hire a small staff and become a boss.
3. There are no bosses. Formally, you work for a customer, but he is not your boss. He needs you as much as you need him. If you don't like working with someone, say goodbye to them and find a new employer.
4. Work all over the world. If you own foreign languages, then you don't have to limit yourself only to Russian customers. The Internet is full of foreign sites for freelancers and you can work on any of them. And unlike a permanent job, you do not need to move somewhere and draw up documents. Agree that the prospect of getting an American salary, but living at Russian prices, sounds pretty good.
5. Ability to work from anywhere. I don't like the option with American salaries and Russian prices, for God's sake. You can work in Russia, but at the same time travel or bask somewhere on the resort beach. The main thing is to have access to the Internet.
6. No restrictions. You can be a minor, student, senior citizen, pregnant or anyone. Anyone can become a freelancer, the main thing is to be able and willing to do something.
7. Development. A freelancer does not need to curry favor with his superiors and wait until he is noticed. If you have experience and skills and you see an offer that is more profitable than what you have now, go for it. Learn, learn new things, make acquaintances - everything is in your hands if you work for yourself.

These are all the main advantages of working on the Internet. You may also have advantages for you personally, such as the opportunity to eat at the workplace or take a nap in the middle of work. Everyone finds it himself.

disadvantages

Now about the shortcomings that are also there.

1. Individual Schedule - An individual schedule is good, but only if you are disciplined. If not, then you may simply not have enough willpower to force yourself to work. You will postpone everything until the last moment, and then spend sleepless nights finishing your order. It is unlikely that such a schedule will safely affect your earnings or health.
2. Lack of stability. A freelancer does not have a fixed salary. Today you are lucky, and you received several orders at once, and tomorrow you sit without work at all.
3. Non-working environment. Agree, when you have your favorite bed, TV, and perhaps a family nearby - this is not a very work atmosphere. It can be difficult to concentrate on work in these conditions. For you to understand how serious this problem is, it is worth noting that many freelancers rent their own offices or equip separate offices at home.
4. Lack of team Sometimes it's even nice that there are no annoying colleagues around you. But people often start to lose social skills from working alone for a long time. This is especially true for those who are used to spending their free time alone.
5. Misunderstanding. Freelancing is not very common today. Many people are skeptical about this. For this reason, you may have misunderstandings even with the closest people. Many freelancers complain that their loved ones often tug at them and ask for help as if they are not busy and just sit at home doing nothing. You might want to give family and friends time to get used to your new lifestyle and realize that sitting at home and messing around are two different things.
6. Risk. Freelancers can run into an unscrupulous customer every day. To protect yourself from this, try to take advances, send work in parts, take at first and only small orders, etc. Also worth mentioning are special sites that help to conduct a secure transaction between a freelancer and an employer and protect both parties from fraud. Well, and, of course, trust your intuition, very often a deceiver can be easily recognized already at the stage of acquaintance.

Now you know about the cons of freelancing. This should help you make the right choice and decide if you are ready to work only for yourself.

How to become a freelancer: where to start

When starting out as a freelancer, it's very important to know where to start here. Many newbies crash at this stage and do not dare to come back. However, remember that getting started is the hardest part. Be prepared for challenges and obstacles.

Don't build too much hope. Of course, you need to strive for the best results, but you won't get it right away. First, you'll have to take on low-paying jobs to gain the experience and portfolio you need. But take it easy and remember that only the best lies ahead.

For a quick start, many experienced freelancers recommend taking courses, attending lectures, or watching webinars. This does not give any guarantees, but it will give you confidence and add at least the necessary minimum of knowledge. In addition, many clients have great confidence in the specialists who have completed courses under their belt.

Also, do not forget about the existence of special exchanges for freelancers. Here you can always find current orders, and some of them also protect their customers from fraudsters.

Where to find a freelance job

The easiest way to find freelance jobs is through specialized websites and exchanges. Below I will publish a list of sites for freelancers where you can find orders for a beginner, gain experience and replenish your portfolio:

• Vorkzila - a lot of simple work that even a beginner freelancer can easily cope with - publishing ads, transcribing (translating audio into text), photo retouching, rewriting, copywriting.
• etxt.ru - content exchange for copywriters, web writers and translators. There are always many orders available for any topic. Average prices are 40-50 rubles per 1000 characters without spaces. You can write articles on topics that are close to you and put them on the free sale.
• text.ru - the service allows not only to check the uniqueness of the text, but also to find orders for authors. The cost per 1000 characters of text is higher than in the previous exchange, but there are fewer orders.
• Weblancer one of the most popular sites for freelancers, there are always loads of orders for programmers, web designers, copywriters and web rewriters.
• freelance.ru- one more good playground to search for customers.
• fl.ru- one of the most famous sites for freelancers, many serious orders with high pay.

In addition to specialized sites and exchanges for remote employees, jobs can be found in other places that aspiring freelancers forget or simply do not know about. So where else can you look for work?

1. View open vacancies on job portals: hh.ru, gorodrabot.ru, superjob.ru (specify “remote work” in the settings);
2. You can directly write letters with offers of services to agencies, web design studios, SEO promotion;
3. Web writers can write a commercial offer by e-mail to the administration of the site they like (it is better to choose the topic of the site that is closest to you, what you know best);
4. Business card website. After you gain experience, you can create a business card website with offers of your services to attract customers;
5. Vkontakte and Telegram groups, in which they regularly post vacancies for remote work, for example this.

Now you should have a little better understanding of who a freelancer is and what he does. Of course, there are many more nuances in this work, and all of them will not fit into any article. The main thing for you is to be persistent, hardworking and not afraid of change, because these are the qualities that are fundamental for any successful freelancer.

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The term freelancer seems to be taking the world by storm, as every third person works remotely ... In fact, a freelancer is someone who works for himself and takes risks.

On the Internet, there are only some collective farm, identical articles about who a freelancer is and what he does.

Therefore, the time has come to write "from the heart", pour some tea and drove ...

The word "freelance" comes from the Middle Ages, when there were two types of knights. There were knights who worked exclusively for one king. And there were "free mercenaries" or knights who worked for those who paid them.

As Bronn the mercenary on Game of Thrones.

The idea of \u200b\u200bfreelancing has survived to this day. Kings were replaced by entrepreneurs, and knights by professionals of all stripes.

There are more freelancers today than ever before. There are so many of them that in some coffee shops in New York, they even began to turn off Wi-Fi in order to survive freelancers who occupy all the places with laptops and do not leave places for ordinary visitors.

According to J’son & Partners Consulting, in recent years, a two-fold growth in the freelance market has been recorded in Russia, moreover, J&P predicts a three-fold growth by 2020:

If you have a valuable skill, you can start selling it now. But, it is important to have a clear understanding of who a freelancer is, what he actually does and how to think in order to weather even a storm.

A freelancer is someone who trades their time for money. Freelancers are self-employed people (like me) who provide services to multiple clients without any long term commitment.

Being a freelancer means being a rental tool and getting paid as an independent contractor.

The Internet is littered with pictures of some dude lying on the beach with a laptop and declaring that he is a freelancer and travels all over the world.

According to a study, 82% of freelancers prefer to stay in one place. Despite this, 79% of freelancers say remote work is better than office work.

Research shows that 50% of people are not ready to give up a free lifestyle for any amount of money. Only one out of four would willingly agree to work in an office.

The subtleties of a freelancer

A freelancer has one thing on his mind - “ time is money».

Unlike an office worker, a freelancer is not afraid of the idea of \u200b\u200blooking for a job, he does it all the time.

Successful freelancers are constantly making connections () and constantly learning to become more professional, and as a result, get more experience and orders.

A good freelancer adapts quickly to changing markets. He does not leave his job on autopilot for too long. Because he has no boss, and all responsibility lies with him.

Freelancers are less likely to waste time on empty things because they cannot afford it. And he clearly knows his hourly rate.

A freelancer works not only for the sake of money, the next order can open the doors to a series of new interesting orders and new experiences. Therefore, a freelancer can easily give up a high-paying office job.

A freelancer divides his work into three types:

1. Well-paid boredom
2. Underpaid work
3. High-paying, interesting contract, which is like winning the lottery

Freelancers are constantly risking their reputation. When you are an independent contractor and your name is tied to everything you do, the level of responsibility is higher than when you work in a team or company.

A freelancer is a perfectionist, constantly striving for a higher level of perfection, because everything he creates belongs only to him. And each element is a stepping stone to the next step.

How would you feel if everything you produce was labeled with your name?

Excessive perfectionism is often the cause.

A freelancer, day after day, faces the need to sell himself and negotiate skillfully, as opposed to working in a team where everyone is responsible for their own narrow direction.

The freelance mindset can make you more efficient, competitive and capable weather the storm!

How much does a freelancer earn

Most shy away from the answer when asked the question:

- "How much do you earn?"

But I will not leave ... and I will answer with specific facts.

According to data from the freelance exchange Kwork for 2018, the top ten most active full-time freelancers there earn an average of 141,000 rubles per month.

But, freelance income is not stable.

For example, in summer there are very few orders, but in autumn and winter there are so many orders that you can even shovel them out with a shovel.

According to Kvork's statistics, a beginner freelancer earns about 10,000 rubles in the first month, after six months you can reach an income of 30,000 - 40,000 rubles. And it will take at least a year to reach an income of 100,000 rubles and above.

These figures are “hospital averages”.

Because, there are many factors that influence the result. It takes time to build up and to fill your hand, improve your skills, gain rating, reviews and regular customers.

Experienced freelancers believe that income in this area depends on your skills and personal brand.

How to become a freelancer from scratch with no experience

If you haven't made a dime online yet, it's time to become a freelancer. This is the easiest way when it comes to making money online.

But which direction to take?

Kwork has hundreds of different service categories. But, out of such a variety, 60% of the volume is occupied by 10 directions:

On the one hand, it immediately becomes clear which directions are better to choose. But do not forget, where there is great demand, there is also a high level of competition.

Fast-growing freelance destinations

If we talk about specific professions, then these are:

• Programmers and layout designers
• Designers
• content managers
• Translators
• SEO specialists
• Business consultants, trainers, coaches
• Accountants
• Lawyers
• Recruiters

And here are the top 5 most unusual freelance services:

To get closer to your dream faster, there are some simple and universal tips:

1. Bury your Ego.The client is always right. Ego overshadows reason, and is the cause of misunderstanding and quarrels.
2. Respond to customers quickly... Be polite, ask clarifying questions, immediately respond to any comments.
3. Do more than is expected of you... High-quality work, will make the customer recommend you to friends. And most likely he will leave a good emotional review. Plus, it's cheaper to retain an old customer than to look for a new one.
4. Offer favorable prices... At first, no one knows about you, so your only trump card is the price. When you have a high rating, you can always raise your prices.
5. Submit your work much earlier than the deadline... There is nothing that influences the mood of the customer as much as a completed assignment ahead of schedule. The customer will experience the WOW effect. Make friends with time management.
6. Don't take multiple assignments at the same time. Many freelancers have a burnout problem when they start juggling multiple jobs.
7. Think through the eyes of the customer... Successful freelancers understand that customers do not need their skills multiplied by hours, but the result. Customers want a product that solves their problem.

Don't sit at home all the time.

The loneliness of a freelancer can hinder professional growth. Because professional development requires interpersonal interaction and feedback.

Therefore, having a place to work in the office, at least once a week, is good for health and psyche. You get the opportunity to connect with colleagues and keep your communication skills in good shape.

There are many places: cafes, libraries, coworking spaces.

Working alone will be boring.

By the way, most often they want to know who a freelancer is, what he does, and what a person in this profession does - these are young mothers who are on maternity leave. If this is you, then read the article:. Then come back here.

How to hire a freelancer

Tasks such as targeted advertising or SEO promotion take time and experience. Freelance sites like Kwork are a good place to start looking for the best candidate.

Some freelancers (like me) act as customers themselves, and that's 20% of the total.

This is not uncommon.

Because a freelancer often acts as a "Project Manager", this is when he takes a large order, consisting of several smaller tasks or stages, and entrusts them to other performers, earning money as an intermediary.

Once, I stumbled upon a man who was buying articles from some on the cheap and selling them at a higher price to others. Earning, on the resale of other people's labor, in fact, doing nothing.

Most likely, on freelance sites, you will see a list of freelancers with titles such as "Guru" or "PPC Wizard".

But, these big names are worth nothing.

For example, freelance site Kwork has a reputation system that consists of five stars. In my experience, if a freelancer doesn't have four or five stars, he isn't worth your time.

On Kwork, each performer has a limited number of "Connections", these are the responses they can send to different assignments. Therefore, when placing your order, you will not see a long stream of uniform and template messages that look like bots are writing to you. Instead - clearly described options for solving your problem.

On Kwork More 100 000 services from RUB 500Fast ordering, user-friendly interface, money back guarantee. Main sections:

In this article, we will analyze what a freelancer is in simple words, who he is and what he does, at home on the Internet, remotely - work or hobby. The article also contains a video on the topic of freelancing.

Who are freelancers? A little history

The word "freelance" has probably been heard by many, but not everyone knows what it means now, and what was meant by this word several centuries ago.

Freelancing today is an opportunity to earn quite decent money working at home using your home computer.

From English, "freelance" can be translated as "free spear", or "free lance".

Freelancers used to be called mercenary warriors who did not care which monarch to serve. They were professionals in military affairs, for the sake of money they acted on the front lines, served as bodyguards, guarded valuables.

For a reasonable payment, civilians and a sinner would be led to hell. They were alien to such concepts as "high feelings" and "patriotism", and as a result, it would be difficult to call their work prestigious and respected.

From history to reality

But times have changed, and now a freelancer is not a warrior, but a professional in his field, who does a certain amount of work without being a permanent employee of the company.

And so what is a freelancer in simple words

Today freelancer means "free artist", the development of modern telecommunications and the Internet suggests that every day there are more such workers, since work can be quite successfully found and performed at home.

We can say that freelancing in the modern concept appeared in developed Western countries, now more than 5% of the population of the USA and Western Europe work there in this way.

Economically, this is quite feasible, since it can significantly reduce the costs of organizing a workplace, and it is much more profitable for employers to entrust remote workers with the work that can be performed on a home PC.

Moreover, if this work is one-time, or from case to case, then it is not at all necessary to introduce a new employee into the permanent staff.

Another, equally important reason for using the labor of remote workers is the shortage of highly qualified employees in certain areas of activity.

Not every specialist is ready to change his place of residence, even for the sake of a very interesting job, therefore, the fact that a specialist works remotely often suits the employer perfectly.

Today, many web designers, journalists, programmers and translators work in this field. Many successful business women online have taken place, although in reality it was quite difficult for them to succeed. They can easily send the results of their work by e-mail to almost anywhere in the world.

So, for example, many Western companies use the services of Russians, often the orders are carried out by residents of China or India. Here, in Russia, publishing houses of the central media are happy to attract journalists living in different regions of the country to work, and thus receive high-quality and fresh material, while incurring not too significant costs.

Without a doubt, freelancing or making money online by a remote method is beneficial for freelancers themselves. Let's not talk about the comfort of working at home in those hours when there is time, desire and inspiration, let's say something else - freelancers, as a rule, get more for their work than those who go to work every day and work from call to call. Therefore, in this regard, the work of a freelancer is quite attractive.

But at the same time, the bulk of people go to work every day. Why don't many people aspire to become freelancers?

1. By no means any work can be done remotely (a locksmith cannot repair a remotely leaking tap, for example).

2. Many people are frightened by the instability of remote work, because especially in the early days of "free floating" there will be no stability, and this is quite justified, everything comes with experience.

Freelance is a field of activity. What does a freelancer do?

Most freelancers work in a "free float" mode, and are constantly striving to expand the number of potential customers.

We will analyze a complete list of advantages and disadvantages in another article, and now we will present you two main areas where freelance work is practiced.

All remote workers can be categorized into two broad categories - computer and non-computer people. If you consider yourself to be in the first category and you know what

the difference between a netbook and a laptop, you can undoubtedly try yourself in such professions as:

• Flash graphics;
• Website design;
• Programming;
• Animation / 3D graphics;
• Website layout;
• Website optimization;
• System administration;
• Website promotion;

If you only know how to turn on and off your computer, then know that there is remote work for such "dummies" as you.

You can try on the following professions and activities:

• PR managers;
• Illustrators and artists;
• Journalists and copywriters;
• Interior designers;
• Translators;
• Fashion designers, photo models and photographers;
• Composers, sound engineers, video and audio processing;
• Consulting;

And this is not the whole list of what you can do while working at home on the Internet, in comfortable conditions, as a remote worker.

In this article, in simple words, what is a freelancer, who is he and what he does, at home on the Internet, remotely - work or hobby. Watch the video:

Hello! Two people worked on this article: Sergey is a freelancer, and Roman is an entrepreneur who actively uses the services of freelancers, but once himself was such.

Freelance (English freelance - free, freelance) is a form of interaction between the employer and the contractor, which implies the execution of orders without visiting the office and official employment, however, in some cases, an agreement is concluded between the customer and the contractor. The contractor can be located anywhere in the world, the main thing is that there is the Internet, through which he will transfer the result of his work to the customer.

Freelancer is an independent employee who works for himself and uses the Internet to communicate with his customers. He himself determines the place of work, its cost, schedule and schedule. A freelancer can provide services as an individual and pay tax on personal income for this, or register as a self-employed or individual entrepreneur and pay taxes according to the chosen tax system.

If a person is officially registered in the state, but at the same time works via the Internet from home, or from another city / country, then this is not a freelancer, but a remote employee, and what he does not freelance, but remote work. That is, the key difference is working for yourself. In this regard, a freelancer has a higher level of freedom than a remote employee.

Freelancer looks for tasks himself - on the Internet on specialized, through newspaper ads, on the advice of friends. He independently needs to contact the customer and discuss the terms of cooperation, and if both parties are satisfied with everything, the freelance process itself begins.

Anyone can be a freelancer:schoolboy, office clerk, mother on maternity leave, retired grandmother, entrepreneur. In freelancing, skills are valued, not physical parameters of a person, therefore, if a student, for example, knows how to create websites, he can easily make money on the Internet. You will find out about what freelancers do below.

The history of freelancing. When did freelance start in Russia?

The word "Freelance" comes from the English freelance (free - free, lance - spear). What is this spear? For the first time this term was mentioned by Walter Scott in the novel "Ivanhoe", and with it he described a medieval mercenary warrior, "a free spearman".

Frank Skiffa told the public about the benefits of remote work in our time in 1979, and he also suggested that the participants in the process resolve all issues by telephone and called it "telework".

Thanks to his work, in 1998 the first western freelance exchange, SOFTmoonlighter.com, appeared. Having the Internet, a person could register on the site and find freelance work there. The exchange exists to this day, but under a different domain - Guru.com.

In Russia, the first freelance exchanges appeared in 2000-2001, however, they quickly closed due to the inability of the creators to maintain them. FL.ru is considered the first freelance exchange in Runet, and it functions to this day, occupying the honorable first place among other similar sites. Although this is debatable. For example, the Weblancer.net exchange appeared in 2003, and some argue that the Freelance.ru website was the pioneer.

Interesting fact: FL.ru exchange appeared on May 14, 2005. Freelancer Day is celebrated on May 14 in honor of the appearance of the first russian stock exchange freelancing.

The reason for the second "powerful push" in the development of freelancing in Russia was the same economic crisis. Against the background of the situation in 2008, people again grew interested in remote work, however, after the settlement of the crisis, people did not return to offices. On the contrary, more and more people began to work remotely. This trend continues to grow to this day.

See how the Internet audience changed from 2004 to 2015:

Obviously, in 2004, the coverage of high-speed and mobile Internet in Russia was sad. Good and inexpensive internet was available only in large cities. For villages and villages, it was something from the realm of space. With the development of technology, not only the number of sites on the Internet has increased, but also the people necessary for their full functioning. Although the activities of freelancers are not limited to sites. We will consider in more detail the directions of freelancing and vacancies below.

Freelance in Russia and in the West. What are the differences?

The differences can be easily traced in the analytics below:

The difference is obvious - the scale of freelancing in the West noticeably outstrips the Russian market. There are much more projects on foreign resources, and their average price is higher.

In Russia, there are not so many freelancers (according to statistics, only 1-2% of employees work remotely), and even when a Russian declares that he is freelancing, friends and parents may be disappointed in their child.

Of course this is not true. Looking ahead, I will say that some Russian freelancers quietly earn more than 100,000 rubles a month.

Why do customers turn to freelancers

It's simple - working with freelancers is profitable. There is no need to maintain a separate employee and organize his workplace. Let's imagine an entrepreneur who needs accounting services. You can hire a separate employee, but he needs to allocate a workplace, buy a desk, a computer, pay for office rent, utility bills. A freelance accountant is not inferior in quality, but will cost less.

Example of Roman Kozhin

Most recently, I was the owner of a small online store. If not for remote employees and freelancers, then I would not be able to make a profit. Some of my employees worked remotely on a permanent basis, for example, account managers. They were at home in different parts of Russia and even I had a manager from Ukraine. I was in Moscow, where a similar manager would have cost me 2-3 times more.

Another part of the staff performed their duties from time to time. These are programmers - their tasks were to improve the online store, content managers - they prepared product descriptions, sales managers - dealt with cold calls, etc.

Finally, I donated some of the functions to - which is also very similar to freelancing. For example, it was not profitable for me to keep my couriers and I signed an agreement with a specialized courier service that delivered goods to my clients.

I myself rented a small office on the outskirts of Moscow, next to the house, from where I managed and controlled all the processes. This optimization saved me tens of thousands of rubles, which went into my additional pocket.

What kind of work can you do freelancing?

In this section, you will learn about the various fields of activity where you can earn remotely.

The responsibilities of a programmer include writing various programs, scripts, plugins, CMS systems, creating games, mobile applications, online services.

What a freelance programmer should know:

• Programming languages \u200b\u200b(C, C #, C ++, Python, JavaScript, PHP, and so on). It is enough to learn one language, and there will be no problems with others.
• The device of various site engines (CMS);
• Ability to interact with databases;
• Proficiency in the CCS and HTML markup languages.

What is in demand on the market:

• Web programming;
• Software and game programming;
• Mobile applications.
• 1C programming.

Examples of programming tasks found on freelance exchanges:

Designers are creative people who bring their ideas to life using various programs (Photoshop, 3D Max, Illustrator, and so on). Freelancing requires the following specialists:

• Interior / Landscape Designers;
• Graphic designers (draw logos, calendars, banners, etc.);
• Game designers (creation of character models, design of locations, and so on);
• Web-designers (development of design of pages, landing pages, logos, banners and other graphic elements of the site)

Basically, the designer is required to be proficient in graphic programs (one or more).

Often the activity overlaps with other areas. For example, web designers may be required to have basic skills in site building (layout of graphic elements on a page), and a game designer may additionally be involved in programming.

Examples of assignments for a freelance designer:

System administrators (sysadmins) are now in any large company. They are engaged in setting up servers, installing software and its control, connect computers, etc. Here's what you can do freelancing:

Copywriting in Runet is the process of creating various texts for websites. What texts are mainly required:

• Informational articles;
• Descriptions of sites, goods in online stores;
• Comments on blogs and forums;
• Descriptions of films, computer games, drugs, and so on;
• Selling texts for commercial offers and one-page sites.

For example, I love video games, I am well versed in them and write reviews, news, reviews and informative articles like "TOP of the best games for such and such a year." I like it. Agree, getting paid for a hobby is doubly pleasant !.

Copywriting is divided into several types:

You don't need special skills to become a copywriter. You have to understand some area (medicine, law, etc.) and learn to write correctly. Although, I would say this is better - if you know how to logically put thoughts in your head and correctly express it in oral speech, then there will be no problems with writing. And special services and programs will help you check errors or commas today.

Topics in demand in copywriting:

• Sports (weight loss, bodybuilding, news);
• Films, TV shows, games (description, reviews, reviews, news);
• Construction;
• Law and Law (Jurisprudence);
• High tech;
• Health and beauty;
• Kitchen, cooking;
• Entrepreneurship, own business;
• Finance (banks, loans, investments).

Examples of tasks for a copywriter:

Translation, audio transcription, typing are branches of copywriting. The lesson is also related to the printing of the text, but there are certain features.

There is no division by topic - you are simply given an assignment. A translator needs to be proficient in multiple languages, transcribing audio needs good headphones, and typing will require you.

Freelance translation is seen as a separate area, while audio / video transcription and typing is more of a “part-time job”. tasks on this topic do not appear often.

Examples of translation orders:

Examples of orders for audio / video transcription:

Examples of orders for typing:

You can also add proofreading and text editing work, writing poetry, naming, scripting, etc. to this list.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) - website promotion in Yandex and Google search engines. The purpose of the activity is to bring the resource to the first lines in the search engine.

Let me explain with the example of our site. Financial blog My Ruble is ranked first in Google for the query "":

But according to the same request in Yandex, our site is not even in the top ten. The task of the SEO-schnick is to bring the site to the first positions in all search engines for the desired request. This will give the site more visitors and more income for the site owner.

SEO people are called SEOs on the Internet. Here's what they should know and be able to do:

• Search engine algorithms (Yandex and Google), the ability to adapt sites to them;
• Keywords, find their frequency, make up the semantic core of the site;
• Sharpen the content of pages for search queries;
• Analysis of competitors, skills in working with specialized programs;
• Analysis of the site and its visibility for search engines.

Based on the tasks, an SEO specialist is obliged to promote the site (together with programmers, copywriters, marketers) in the search results and optimize it.

Examples of tasks for an SEO specialist:

Advertising and promoting something on the Internet is another type of freelance. In part, this task lies on the shoulders of an SEO specialist, however, freelance exchanges are considered separately. The bottom line is advertising something using social networks, contextual, teaser, targeted advertising.

Examples of tasks:

Freelance managers act as intermediaries between the customer and the contractor. They are divided into two types:

1. Project managers. They assemble a team of freelancers, draw up a technical assignment, distribute tasks, and send the finished result to the customer.
2. Representative managers. They are suitable for freelancers who have many clients and do not have enough time for everyone.

In addition to the "intermediaries" there are also sales managers, content managers, recruiting managers, and so on.

Naturally, certain skills are required in each area. For example, intermediary managers must be able to talk with people and manage them, sales managers must convince customers to buy something, and be able to handle objections.

Examples of tasks for managers on the freelance exchange:

Engineering is the provision of engineering consulting services. That is, help with drawings, bring design developments to mind, and so on. Yes, even people with a technical background can easily find themselves in freelancing.

Engineering includes the following activities:

• Project design;
• Calculated analysis;
• Provision of engineering and consulting services;
• Solution of technical problems;
• Production of drawings and documentation.

Obviously, such a job requires professional education and experience. Here are the engineering orders on the freelance exchange:

This direction of freelancing is suitable for people who have sufficient knowledge in a particular area in order to share it with others. Experts can share knowledge in person, for example, Skype consultation, chatting, or conduct online training for a wide audience (webinar).

This is in demand because it is easier to share knowledge over the Internet than in real life. The client does not need to look for specialists on their issues and go somewhere, it is enough to create a corresponding order.

In addition to knowledge in a certain area, a person must be able to competently convey information to the client.

Examples of orders:

Example of Roman Kozhin

Photographers can earn money by selling unique photographs to photo banks. It happens like this - upload a picture, set a price (or the service determines it automatically) and wait for the customer to make a purchase. The snapshot is not submitted for a one-time purchase, i.e. it can be purchased an unlimited number of times. Popular photo banks: Shutterstock, Dreamstime, iStockphoto, Fotolia, Depositphotos.

Also photographers can find orders on the freelance exchange. In part, this activity will be remote (photo editing, making a collage), but may require a presence on the spot (a photographer for a wedding, event, and so on). An example of tasks from the freelance exchange:

Architecture / Construction

Architects can also work remotely and solve various problems:

• House project;
• Design heat supply and the like;
• Interiors;
• Visualization;
• Landscaping / master plan;
• Layout.

For architects, there are special freelance exchanges, such as: Architector.ru, Proektants.ru, Remontnik.ru, Houzz.ru, MyDoma.ru.

You can also find clients on general freelance exchanges, for example, here's what is on Fl.ru:

Builders (as well as electricians, plumbers) can find both work and large orders at the above-mentioned special sites. That is, you do not need to have a permanent employer - you can fulfill one-time orders and get good results. However, this is more work on the spot, although there are also problems that can be solved remotely. Example of orders from the Remontnik.ru exchange:

Like photographers, videographers can find applications for filming any events (often weddings).

Example of orders:

This also includes video editors. Nowadays there are a lot of commercial Youtube accounts that massively create videos that someone needs to process.

Lawyers, accountants and other specialists in similar fields can help clients without being tied to a location. That is, to conduct consultations, solve any problems. Basically, of course, consultation is required.

There are specialized exchanges for them, such as: HRtime.ru, 9111.ru, Consjurist.ru. Pravoved.ru. For example, 9111 earnings are based on answering customer questions:

At Consjurist, specialists earn through paid consultations:

You can also find orders on the freelance exchange, for example, for an accountant:

Work that does not require skills and knowledge

What if you do not have any special skills and knowledge, but you want to earn some money? No problem! There is a lot of work on the Internet that does not require special skills and experience. Here are some examples:

As you can see from the screenshot above, you can find a lot of tasks for a person without special skills. The simplest:

• Leave a review (usually fictitious);
• Register on a specific site;
• Type text;
• Think of something, for example, epithets or topics for articles;
• Find any information.

Yes, they don't pay much for such tasks. But it takes little time to complete such tasks. By completing 3-5 such tasks, you can earn 300 - 1000 rubles. per day, or 9,000 - 30,000 rubles. per month. Well, if you want to earn more, then keep track of what they pay well for - learn this and start working.

Here are some more ideas for how to get started online:

The story of a mechanic from a meat processing plant

My name is Vladislav, I myself am from Karlovka, Poltava region (Ukraine). I work as a mechanic at a meat processing plant, I am 42 years old, married, I have two children.

The salary is $ 150. I like my job, but it's not enough to support my family. Therefore, I started looking for a side job on the Internet. Found one on freelance exchanges. It comes out 200-300 dollars a month, but it can go even more, since I perform tasks there in my free time from my main work.

Usually I spend no more than 4 - 5 hours (2 hours before work and 2-3 hours after the main work), on weekends I can perform various tasks for 10 - 12 hours.

I specialize in the following:

My favorite pastime is posting ads on various services.

It was not difficult to master freelance, but you need to have some computer skills (WORD, EXCEL, photo processing programs, etc.).

Above, we have listed the most popular freelance professions. But the list of vacancies for freelancers is not limited to this. Go to several freelance exchanges, see what tasks are there, adjust the filter to suit your skills and you, for sure, will find something suitable for you.

How much do freelancers earn

Describing the professions above, I emphasized the cost of orders for a reason. As you have seen, labor can be estimated at either 100 or 100,000 rubles. What does earnings depend on and can a freelancer be financially independent, or is it worth considering this area as a part-time job in his free time from his main job?

What does earnings depend on?

Freelancer income depends on the following factors:

• Experience;
• Free time;
• Qualifications and Portfolio;
• Ability to present your services;
• Specializations (somewhere they earn more, somewhere less);
• Freelancer geolocation (in the Russian-speaking space, earnings are lower than, for example, in the English-speaking space).

As a result, an experienced freelancer can earn 2 times more than an office worker. However, if you are a beginner, you should not hope for big numbers, since without experience, portfolio and low skill level you can hope for a salary of 10,000-15,000 per month, no more.

Let's take a look at the statistics for freelancing directions for 2019. First, let's compare the budgets of projects in Russia and the USA:

The difference can be seen with the naked eye. The following areas are leading in Russian freelancing:

1. Web programming;
2. Software and game programming;
3. Advertising and promotion
4. Texts and translations;
5. Mobile applications;
6. Management;
7. Multimedia;
8. Photo;
9. Flash and animation;

In the West, this list is slightly different:

1. Web programming;
2. Mobile applications;
3. Texts and translations;
4. Advertising and promotion;
5. Software and game programming;
6. Management;
7. Flash and animation;
8. Multimedia;
9. Photo.

As you can see, the market leaders are web programmers and designers. In the West, freelancers are paid much higher (the difference in budgets is almost 10 times!).

How much does one freelancer make? I give the approximate average statistics of monthly earnings in the following areas:

How much can I earn

I am a student, I write articles in my free time. Time is divided into 3 periods:

• Holidays. Complete freedom from study, the opportunity to devote most of your free time to earnings;
• Study. The usual educational process with visiting couples and doing homework. Already it is not possible to devote so much time to freelancing due to other employment;
• Session. It takes about a month and a half, during this period I go headlong into the not very beautiful world of cramming textbooks. I don't work at all.

During the holidays, my income is 30,000-40,000 rubles, while studying 15,000-20,000 rubles. (if not less), during the session 0 rubles.

I am not a professional copywriter. Didn't take special courses. Although no, I tried, but it became boring and threw in the middle. My strengths are experience and ability to correctly express thoughts on paper.

Am I satisfied with the earnings? So far, yes. But I feel that it can be increased several times if you sit down tightly for your profession. There are opportunities, there is no desire and time.

The word “freelancer” is becoming very popular these days. Many users sometimes prefer not stuffy offices, but relaxed home atmosphere, in which they have a desire to work fruitfully. In this article, we will try to find out in detail who a freelancer is and what this respected friend does.

What is it and who is it?

Freelancers have been around since the Middle Ages. That was the name of the mercenaries. Hired soldiers enjoyed multiple privileges, which included the ability to choose whom to hire and how much money to ask for their work.

Modern freelancers for sure also defines for itself:

• Kind of activity;
• Freelance company or exchange;
• Tariffs and payment methods.

An experienced freelancer adjusts his entire workflow to fit the timing of his choice, while, say, an office worker is completely dependent on his work schedule. A freelancer decides for himself when he has a weekend and when he needs a vacation.

Freelancer can be called a specialist in one or several areasx, which can work remotely for one or more customers. A freelancer is obliged to perform the work efficiently and on time, which is indicated by the customer when placing the order.

The customer does not care where and how his order is carried out. Quality comes first. Many freelancers prefer their own work rhythm, which over time becomes their style of life.

What does a freelancer do?

Freelancer is usually works remotely. To become a freelancer, it is enough to be a good specialist in any field. By the type of activity, freelancers are divided:

• For those who work directly on the Internet - is engaged in the development, promotion or optimization of sites. Engaged in programming, rewriting and copywriting or web design. This group also includes content managers;
• The second group includes people who use the Internet only to contact the customer. These include specialists in the field of photography and law, as well as accountants and people who translate texts. This category also includes teachers who practice via Skype.

How does the process take place?

Although freelancers work remotely over the Internet, they have also the right to full employment. A remote worker can be employed in the following statuses:

• A freelancer can be a self-employed entrepreneur, which many employers like. Such freelancers, in their opinion, are the most responsible workers;
• If a freelancer is employed as a remote worker, then he or she is also entitled to the full benefits package. A freelancer, like an ordinary employee in a company, pays taxes, earns seniority and pays to the Pension Fund. Also, according to the Law, a remote worker is entitled to another vacation. The main condition for remote work is the constant communication of the freelancer with the employer throughout the 8-hour working day;
• Also a freelancer can be natural person, which is involved in small volumes of work. As a rule, these are one-time orders, but sometimes there is something more serious and more long-term. Employees of this category have the opportunity to conclude employment contracts with employers, but in most cases such formalities are not required.

How to start your business?

In order to become confident freelancers, you should clearly understand what area you will be working in. After you have decided on the type of occupation, you need to study as many video lessons as possible, and collect as much information as possible about the type of proposed activity.

It takes some time to get into your "rut". You must grope for your own rhythm and develop your own method of action... You also need to adjust the mode of your work activity for yourself so that the work argues. Now on the net you can find a lot of useful literature that will accelerate adaptation in this field.

Typically, a freelancer starts with small and timid ordersin, which subsequently turn into a fairly large-scale and dynamic activity, which is parallelized to fulfill orders from several employers.

Many freelancers start their activities with numerous content and freelance exchanges, but subsequently acquire useful connections and leave for companies where they have stable employment and high profit payment.

The first orders bring a modest income, but over time, the qualifications of a freelancer grow, therefore, his income also grows. Also, a freelancer's professional rating increases, which allows employers to willingly contact him and offer him a profitable job.

Why are freelance services in demand?

Nowadays, many companies prefer to save on everything. Some firms do not even rent offices in order not to pay for utilities and rental of premises. These firms and companies prefer to hire remote workers (freelancers), and combine them into a kind of virtual enterprise. Such companies operate no less efficiently than regular firms with ordinary staff.

For many company managers, such a work organization is simply ideal. The costs in this situation go only to pay for freelancers.

This way employers can hire workers. from all over the world, which significantly expands the market for qualified specialists. So what are the pros and cons of being a freelancer? Let's start with the positives.

Pros:

• Freelancer is constantly improving his level;
• In the traditional sense, there are no bosses over a freelancer;
• A remote worker has the ability to customize his employment regime;
• The freelancer has access to the whole range of orders from all over the world;
• Remote activities have practically no restrictions - by age and others;
• Freelancer is not tied to any geographic location.

Minuses:

• The remote worker has to constantly look for orders;
• Sometimes relatives and friends underestimate and do not understand the activities of a freelancer.

As you can see, remote activities practically has no flaws.

Conclusion

Many users, having tried themselves as a freelancer, are no longer eager to plunge into the office routine or any other offline activity.

Freelance is also hard work, which requires deep knowledge in a particular area. Remote work is no less responsible than regular employment, and also requires quality performance and diligence.

Newbie freelancers should wish - do not give in to difficulties and take on any work to begin with. After some time, the newly made freelancer will get used to his new incarnation, and then the work will begin to give him real pleasure.

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